ARTICLES ABOUT PARLE PRODUCTS BY DATE - PAGE 4

NEW DELHI: The country's top biscuit maker, Parle Products, is going regional with its marketing strategy. The maker of Monaco, Parle-G and Hide & Seek biscuits has roped in regional actors Ravi Kishan and Rituparna Sengupta for endorsing Monaco salty biscuits. The company has decided not to have a national-level brand ambassador and did not renew its endorsement contract with Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan that ended in mid-2010, a top official said. "We are putting a regional focus on Monaco now, which is why we did not feel the need to sign a national-level star," Parle Products group brand manager Shalin Desai said.

If there's one aspect of the business that excites Vinita Bali the most, it's the market visit. It's the field visit that provides the vital ingredients necessary to run the business that she's responsible for. "One doesn't learn anything by reading marketing books. Marketing has to be experienced and for that one must step out," says Bali, MD of Britannia Industries as we meet at the spacious sea-facing Britannia guest house in central Mumbai. Market visits, she adds, are not just about looking at biscuits' off-take but to know more about the lifestyle, consumers are leading now-a-days.

NEW DELHI: Indians spend more on biscuits than on toothpastes, skin-care products, shampoos and instant noodles put together, and Parle Products has surged ahead of Britannia Industries to become a clear leader in the Rs 11,000-crore-plus market, say Nielsen data. The country spent Rs 11,295 crore on biscuits in the 12 months ended March 2010 compared with Rs 2,300 crore on toothpastes, Rs 3,500 crore on skin-care products, Rs 2,400 crore on shampoos and Rs 1,300 crore on instant noodles.

NEW DELHI: Kraft Foods , the world's second largest foods company, is in talks with at least three biscuit makers including Cremica group and Surya Food & Agro for manufacturing alliance in India as the makers of Oreo biscuits looks to tap the country's Rs 6,500-crore organised biscuits market. Three officials close to Kraft Foods, which bought out British chocolate maker Cadbury in a $19.7-billion deal in January, told ET that the US foods firm has initiated exploratory talks with different local manufacturers including Ludhiana-based Cremica and Priyagold biscuit makers Surya Food.

MUMBAI: More consumers seem to be munching on Parle biscuits while sipping on their hot cuppa, which is probably why the company is said to have toppled Britannia Industries' numero uno position to become the largest selling biscuit company in India. Last year, the Vijay and Sharad Chauhan-controlled Parle Products, which makes the ubiquitous 'Parle-G' glucose biscuits, had attained volume leadership in the market. Now, with a total turnover of around Rs 4,000 crore coming from biscuits, Parle Products has emerged as the clear market leader, with a difference of almost Rs 1,000 crore.

MUMBAI: More consumers seem to be munching on Parle biscuits while sipping on their hot cuppa, which is probably why the company is said to have toppled Britannia Industries' numero uno position to become the largest selling biscuit company in India. Last year, the Vijay and Sharad Chauhan-controlled Parle Products, which makes the ubiquitous 'Parle-G' glucose biscuits, had attained volume leadership in the market. Now, with a total turnover of around Rs 4,000 crore coming from biscuits, Parle Products has emerged as the clear market leader, with a difference of almost Rs 1,000 crore.

Six months ago, top executives at Parle Products began debating how to deal with a major crisis the company was facing. Sugar prices had increased three-fold within a year to Rs 45 a kg and wheat flour prices were rising, putting enormous strain on profitability for the biscuits and confectionery maker. After three months agonising over the problem, they decided in February to raise the price of their flagship brand and the world's largest-selling biscuit, Parle-G, to Rs 5 from Rs 4. Parle also increased the weight of its packs to 88 gram from 82.5 gram.

A COMMON perception in the mid and late nineties was that premium brand sales in India can be driven only by the 6-8 major metros & high purchasing power states like Punjab, Maharashtra, T.N., Gujrat. But I was really surprised when I discovered that markets like U.P. which is traditionally considered to be low purchasing power state & not a market for premium brands, is doing very well not only for one of our premium brands but our major competitor's premium brand too. This made me realise how we operate with preconceived notions & how important it is to have open mind for a marketing person.

Snacking comes naturally to Indian consumers. With the mind boggling variety in mid-meal snacks, the pakoras, batata wadas or chaats have always lived happily besides the chivdas, the potato wafers and the kachoris. In recent times, the happy co-existence has come under threat. India has already managed the dubious reputation of becoming the diabetes capital of the world. The threat of heart diseases is also alarmingly high. These numbers are ringing alarm bells, among a section of educated urban elite, and of course, brand marketers.

NEW DELHI: The scrap capable of breaking a sweet tooth between the two factions of the Parle family?Parle Products and Parle Agro?over the use of the 'Parle' trademark took another turn with the Bombay High Court allowing the latter to use the name on its confectionery products. In an ad-interim (temporary) order the court permitted Prakash Chauhan-owned Parle Agro to use the word 'Parle' on its range of confectionery products, but only to indicate that the products are 'manufactured by or marketed by' it. The company, however, cannot use the Parle name anywhere for advertising on confectionery packs other than the manufacturer/ marketer's name in the legal declaration on the back of packs, as per the court ruling that came out earlier this month.